WebVR with Cardboard

23rd September 2015

THREE.js, WebGL, VR, WebVR

After reading reading that Google cardboard can run on iOS it looked like a really cheap and easy way to start experimenting with VR ahead of the promised consumer headset releases next year. The WebVR boilerplate project makes things even easier by pulling together a browser polyfill to the WebVR specification with code for stereo rendering in Three.js and VR camera controls using the device orientation API. It also renders in a desktop browser making development a breeze.

My first thought was to create a simple starfield with points continuously moving towards and beyond the viewer. This worked well but didn't give any sense of scale within the the scene. My next idea was to create a large collection of random static cuboids at a specified radius around the viewer. This made it easier to perceive the scale and distances involved in the scene.